All posts by G Dan Mitchell

G Dan Mitchell, photographer and visual opportunist focusing on the Pacific coast, the Sierra Nevada, redwood forests, California oak/grasslands, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography and more. Posting daily photographs since 2005, along with articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

White Pelicans, Island

Image December 15, 2019 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A small flock ofwhite pelicans on a small wetlands island and reflected in the surface of a pond.

Growing up in California, early on pelicans were more or less mythical birds to me. I heard stories about them (“Its beak can hold more than its belly can”) but I don’t recall actually seeing them. That is somewhat odd, since my family frequently visited the California coast where the brown pelicans are often seen — flying past almost any coastal location or sometimes settling down on rocks, headlands, or even beaches. When I finally did “discover” pelicans, they were these brown pelicans. Much to my eventual surprise, these were not the only California pelicans, and the beautiful white pelicans are found all over the place, from coastal to inland locations. It was only in the past decade or sot that I made their acquaintance.

In my experience, the behavior of white pelicans is much different than what I’ve see among brown pelicans. My impression of the brown pelicans is that they are often (most of the time?) in flight, coasting along shoreline bluffs and not spending all that much time on the ground. On the other hand, most of the time when I’ve seen white pelicans they have been on the ground, as with this group. Often when I photograph them I spend a lot of time watching flocks on the ground like this one, waiting for them to eventually take to the air. Sometimes it is a long wait! This group posed on the small island for quite a while before they finally took to the air, made a swooping turn, and passed almost directly over me.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Pond, Clouds

Image December 14, 2019 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Towering late-afternoon autumn clouds reflected in a Central Valley wetlands pond.

Who isn’t a sucker for big, fluffy clouds and vast expanses of smooth water? I know I am. Such clouds often appear between winter (and late-autumn) storms in California, and they are among my favorite weather phenomena here. While the form is reminiscent of that of big thunderheads, these clouds are not as large and in person they have a much gentler aspect. I photographed these above Central Valley wetlands on a day of soft and diffuse light — it began in fog and ended in lovely late-day light.

Those who look at my photography with a somewhat technical eye may have noticed that I’m a big fan of long focal lengths for much of my landscape photography. I like the way that they allow me to focus on smaller sections of the grand landscape. But I always carry wider lenses, too, and that is what these conditions called for. Knowing this was a possibility, I actually had two cameras with me — one outfitted with a long focal length to photograph birds and the other with a shorter lens for subjects just like this one.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Feeding Black-Necked Stilt

Image December 13, 2019 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A black-necked stilt feeding in a season wetland pond.

The black-necked stilt is a fascinating bird, even to someone like me whose knowledge of birds is somewhat limited. (I know a lot by osmosis and observation, but not much at all from formal learning.) I often seen them along the margins of wetland ponds, where the water is just about the right depth for their long legs. Sometimes I see one of them alone, but more often they are in small, loose group. They seem to spend a lot of time foraging, and much less flying about — though every so often they will quickly take off.

They are an interesting combination of gangly awkwardness and sleek beauty. Those long legs can almost give them a comic appearance at times, but they also allow them to wander about in water that is several inches deep. Their coloration is simple but striking — white on the bottom and black on top — and their round heads hold long narrow beaks. When you observe them you are bound to see them do some odd things with their legs — sometimes moving them with great deliberation, occasionally holding delicately balanced poses, sometimes bending awkwardly.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands Evening

Image December 12, 2019 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dissipating evening clouds reflected in the surface of a Central Valley wetlands pond.

This is the my favorite season in California — from October (with Sierra aspens) though the onset of winter rains (and mountain snow) in November or so, and on to the very beginning of spring. I’m sure that folks in other parts of country occasionally resent us saying it, but sometimes the hot and sunny days of late spring through summer are just… boring. it is rare to see clouds, there is virtually no rain — and those are precisely the conditions I love.

I made this photograph on a recent trip in the Central Valley, mostly looking for wildlife, but also for agricultural subjects, a certain sort of autumn color that is found here into December, and the beautiful skies that appear before and after the passage of weather systems. I had arrived at this place before dawn, photographed through the morning in fog, and returned again after a midday lunch break. Here it less than a half hour before sunset, and things were quieting down and the light was softening, and big, billowy clouds drifted overhead, reflected in the waters of wetland ponds.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.